GJM Alleges Interference by Mamata Government, Announces Agitation

Kolkata/Kalimpong: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) today said it will launch an agitation protesting the West Bengal government’s interference in the affairs of the autonomous council governing the Darjeeling hills, even as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asserted she will not allow parting of the hills.

The GJM, which runs the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), has already announced that three of its legislators — Harka Bahadur Chettri, Rohit Sharma and Trilok Dewan, representing Kalimpong, Kurseong and Darjeeling respectively — will resign in protest against the government’s continuous “interference and non-cooperation”.

The GTA was created in 2011 via a tripartite agreement between the GJM and the state and central governments.

“We have now nothing to do with the state government which keeps on interfering in the GTA’s affairs. We will now raise the issue with the Centre. The state government has never bothered to abide by the tripartite agreement,” GJM chief and GTA chairman Bimal Gurung said.

Mr Gurung said the Chief Minister — currently on a visit to the Darjeeling hills — brought “grief to the region” with every visit.

“She said she will turn Darjeeling into Switzerland, but she has done nothing. She keeps interfering by constituting various boards and trying to divide the people of the hills for political gain,” said Mr Gurung.

He was referring to the bodies constituted by the Banerjee government for the development of indigenous communities of Tamang, Sherpa and Bhutia in the hills.

Iterating that all the three MLAs will tender their resignation on September 18, the GJM, which has been demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland to be carved out of parts of Darjeeling and its neighbouring Jalpaiguri district, said they will begin agitations in a democratic manner.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, addressing an event organised by the Tamang Development and Cultural Board, reiterated her stand that she would not let the state be divided.

“I can give up my life but will never give up the hills,” said Ms Banerjee.

At the event, she handed over a cheque of Rs. 10 crore to the Tamang Board for construction of 1,000 houses, and also assured similar funds to the Sherpa and Bhutia boards. IANS

Gurung’s GTA barb at govtWrites Bireswar Banerjee for TT

Bagdogra, Sept. 15: Bimal Gurung today said the GTA was being run in the hills like a three-tier panchayat system and iterated his charge that the chief minister was indulging in “divide and rule” politics.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president, who headed for New Delhi on a two-day visit today, told journalists at the Bagdogra airport: “It has become a three-tier panchayat system in the hills. On one side, the state is forming boards (for different hill communities) one after another, while on the other side, the district magistrate is running the administration in his own way. Then, the GTA is also functioning in the hills. We are disappointed that many departments have not been transferred to the GTA and I want to iterate that the hill body cannot function in such manner.”

The GTA chief executive continued with his verbal attack on Mamata Banerjee.

“Whenever she (chief minister) comes (to the hills), we welcome and honour her. She, however, keeps on playing divide and rule politics and goes on forming boards to create division among the hill population. Earlier, she had announced that she would turn Darjeeling into Switzerland. We want to know why such promises were made when the state failed to carry out any development works in hills,” Gurung said.

“Till now, the chief minister has only formed these so-called boards for Tamangs, Lepchas and Sherpas. It seems she will form boards for everybody in the hills and will induct even domesticated animals into the boards.”

Gurung said the resumption of the statehood movement was inevitable.

“…the manner in which the chief minister is disappointing and hurting us during her frequent visits to the hills has left us with no other option but to re-launch the movement for Gorkhaland,” he said.

According to him, the agitation will begin after all three Morcha MLAs resign from the Assembly on September 18.

“We will devise a strategy and launch the movement. It will be a democratic movement which would be carried out both in Delhi and the hills. Gorkhas from different parts of India will join the movement. We can no longer run the GTA in this manner and want our demand for the separate state to be met,” the Morcha president said.

Although Gurung went to Delhi to attend a programme to be organised by Buddhists, he said he would try to meet some Union ministers during the visit.

Asked whether he would also quit the post of the GTA chief, Gurung said: “If such circumstances develop in the future, we will definitely look into it.”

Gurung is accompanied by Kurseong MLA Rohit Sharma and three other Morcha leaders, sources said.

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